Press Releases
History You Can Touch
Located in the Sloane Gallery at Bennington Museum which features the Battle of Bennington and Vermont Firearms, is the original bronze cannon that was captured by American forces in the Battle of Bennington. While the cannon is amazing to look at, local woodworker Charles Dewey, a descendant of the Dewey family who fought at the Battle of Bennington in 1777, thought it would be amazing to provide visitors the opportunity to get up close with an historically accurate reproduction of both the cannon and the carriage which carried it.
Inspiring Quilters Around the World
It began last summer. Telephone calls and emails from Australia, England, California, Texas; the calls kept coming. “When will the quilt be on display?” Quilters from around the country and world were planning trips to the region to be here when the 1863 Sampler Quilt created by Jane A. Stickle was on view. From August 31 through October 14, the quilt that inspires quilters from all over the world will be on its yearly display at the Bennington Museum.
Fields of Change: 1960s Vermont and Color Fields: 1960s Bennington Modernism
This summer and into the fall, Bennington Museum presents two exhibitions that together tell the story of the changes that took place in the 1960s in the Green Mountain state. These changes helped to define the state’s artistic, social, political, and cultural landscape as we know it today. Fields of Change: 1960s Vermont is on view June 29 through November 3. Color Fields: 1960s Bennington Modernism is on view through December 30.
Three Authors on the Counterculture Legacy
On Saturday, July 21 at 2:00 pm, Bennington Museum presents Three Vermont Authors on the Counterculture Legacy. Tom Fels, Yvonne Daley, and Verandah Porche engage the audience with stories and passages from their books on the communal experience along with its social dynamics and challenges. Hear firsthand how the young migrants from the city and suburbs moved to the backwoods of Vermont where they would have an historic impact a conservative state with their lifestyles, politics, sexuality and more, literally shaping the Vermont we know today.
Village Enlightenment: Print Culture in Rural Vermont 1810-1860
Village Enlightenment: Print Culture in Rural Vermont, 1810-1860, brings to light the widespread and growing interest in rural New England for printed matter that could spread knowledge during the development of the American Republic. The belief was held that through rationalism, scientific reasoning, and exploration, and most importantly, in this context, the distribution of that knowledge via printed matter, humans could harness the world that they lived in and turn it to their benefit.
BHS presents David Redding – Hanged in Bennington
On June 11, 1778, Loyalist David Redding was hanged on the Bennington town green for "inimical conduct." Ethan Allen, having been recently released from a British prison, served as State's prosecutor. It became Vermont's first hanging. Holland tells the story of Redding's trial and execution which was only the beginning of his odyssey through history.
Small in Size – Vast in Scale and Power – Color | Gesture: Emily Mason
The very popular “Music at the Museum” series continues on Sunday, May 26 at 2:00 pm in the Ada Paresky Education Center at the Bennington Museum with Honoring Beethoven. Now in its fourth year, the concerts presented in Music at the Museum are as diverse as the Museum’s collection. This concert is free and open to the public thanks to the support of Alison Nowak and Robert Cane. Reservations are not required.
Music at the Museum presents Honoring Beethoven
The very popular “Music at the Museum” series continues on Sunday, May 26 at 2:00 pm in the Ada Paresky Education Center at the Bennington Museum with Honoring Beethoven. Now in its fourth year, the concerts presented in Music at the Museum are as diverse as the Museum’s collection. This concert is free and open to the public thanks to the support of Alison Nowak and Robert Cane. Reservations are not required.
FREE Admission for Everyone on May 11
On Saturday, May 11 from 10 am to 5 pm admission to Bennington Museum is FREE for ALL visitors and the lineup for engagement is outstanding. Join us for art, history, exhibition openings, activities and more! All free!
Spring Issue of the Walloomsack Review Now Available
Bennington Museum is publishing two issues of the Walloomsack Review this season. On the cover of Volume 23 is an image of the “Black youth” who led captured Hessians after the Battle of Bennington. This image sets the stage for the articles in this issue which include topics pertaining to the history of African-Americans in Vermont and how Vermonters engaged with the civil rights movement. The second publication, is a special edition that contains articles written by current students at Bennington College. Both address interesting and timely topics.
Diseased Pines Come Down
The George Aiken Wildflower Trail is an engaging garden covering six acres of Bennington Museum’s 10-acre property. While the wildflowers of the area continue to thrive, the Eastern White Pines have been almost universally infected by red rot (Fomes pini), a fungus that penetrates the heart of the trunk, severely weakening it. After more than a decade of study, in June 2018 the Museum’s Executive Committee voted reluctantly to remove the pine forest, and begin implementing plans for a new landscape designed by Reed Hilderbrand, one of the foremost firms of landscape architects in the nation.
Bennington Museum Executive Director Takes New Position at Bruce Museum
The Board of Trustees of Bennington Museum announces that current Executive Director Robert Wolterstorff will be leaving his position with the Museum to become The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, on June 1. Wolterstorff has served as the Executive Director of the Bennington Museum since summer of 2012.